What is Intention?

Article by Angie Webster

When you begin to work with Reiki, you will hear that it is “based in intention”, that it “works with your intention”, that “intention directs it” and various other teachings relating to intention.

If you are like me, the word intention will likely have only a vague meaning to you when you first hear these things. I couldn’t quite grasp if it was thought or feeling. And furthermore, I couldn’t get why the word was so strongly stressed, as if it was a different thing altogether. It seemed to me it would be much simpler to just say, “thought” or “emotion” and be clear! It turns out that intention is not quite that simple.

Both thought and emotion are forms of energy. You can think of each as having their own kind of frequency. The mind produces its own frequency with thought and sends out that signal. We have many thoughts throughout the day, but most of them are random and not directed toward a specific purpose. The heart center has its own frequency in the form of emotions. The emotions are processed and felt through much of our body. The response we generate toward our emotions often comes from the lower chakras, especially the solar plexus and sacral chakras.

Intention is more of a merging of thought and emotion, as if the two energies are working together toward the same goal. When the frequencies of mind and heart, or thought and emotion, work together on purpose that is intention. It is choosing a thought that is very directed toward a purpose and using the frequency of the heart, or the emotions, to generate the energy to move the thought forward toward its goal. The other chakras are then activated automatically, as they are needed, in response to the need for forward movement to reach the desired outcome.

With Reiki, using intention is as simple as first choosing the thought that you would like to have Reiki flow through you to a specific person or situation, whatever you are directing it toward. Then, allowing all other thoughts to fall to the back of our your mind, let your heart focus solely on loving energy, as if you are directing love and appreciation toward Reiki and toward the person or situation you have chosen to direct Reiki toward. These two frequencies will blend together beautifully and merge to create a shift and a healing effect. Your own energy system will open in all the ways it needs to in order to allow the correct energies to flow through.

You will find that intention works this way in most any aspect of life. Your mind and the love and appreciation in your heart center are the keys to unlocking and activating frequencies that will shift things in everyday life, as well as in your own mind, body and spirit. It takes practice to learn to work with intention and even to understand the subtleties of what it truly is. But it can be a very interesting ongoing practice that can change your life for the better and help you to improve the world around you as well.

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Angie Webster made a significant contribution to the Reiki community, with a particular focus on Animal Reiki, which she had a deep affection for. As a knowledgeable Reiki Master Teacher and Author, she conducted online courses on energy healing, herbalism, flower essences, and personal growth.
She is the author of “Animal Reiki: How it Heals, Teaches & Reconnects Us with Nature” and “Reiki from A to Z”. Currently, Angie has decided to retire from her professional life to devote more time to her health, family, and the little joys of life.